


Boyfriend

by MeansToOffend (goodmorning)



Series: Pick Me Up [5]
Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: 2017-2018 NHL Season, Jealousy, M/M, Montreal Canadiens, Pick-Up Lines, Poorly-Thought-Out Competition, but does it count as jealousy if he doesn't realize he's jealous?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-22
Updated: 2018-03-22
Packaged: 2019-04-06 14:32:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14059023
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/goodmorning/pseuds/MeansToOffend
Summary: "It’s a happy coincidence that Gally always seems to start wearing on everyone’s nerves right when Alex needs to let off some steam, and it’s no different this time. They’re barely two weeks into the season, and already he finds himself sinking into the same old rhythm."





	Boyfriend

It’s not that Alex _hates_ Gally, or anything. It’s just that sometimes, he’s really hard to deal with. His ego’s not the biggest Alex has ever played with, but it is very rigid, without a lot of room for things like “seeing other people’s points of view.” Still, the thing that makes him hard to deal with also makes him, in some ways, a little easier to manage: his strong sense of self includes a high degree of competitiveness, and, combined, these attributes make him very easy to bait. 

As a matter of course, Alex has taken the job of keeping Gally in line, and he treats it very seriously; he’s good at it, and even if the coach and front office guys doubt his on-ice skill almost constantly, at least they have to know he’s the best of all of them when it comes to keeping Gally in check.

It’s not as though Alex isn’t aware of his own failings, either, whatever the media may say. He knows his accent isn’t as clear as it could be (though it definitely isn’t as bad as he pretends it is), and his Quebecois is still nearly nonexistent (though he blames his constant state of “one foot out the door” for that). He knows, too, that he has trouble integrating his offensive and defensive play, though he’s still excellent at the former and vastly improved at the latter. 

He feels ungrateful, sometimes, to have all that he has and still not be as happy as he probably should be, but the constant uncertainty about his future is wearing, and the lack of confidence in him is worse, so he refuses to let the guilt linger. And, anyway, if it really bothers him, there’s always Gally.

It’s a happy coincidence that Gally always seems to start wearing on everyone’s nerves right when Alex needs to let off some steam, and it’s no different this time. They’re barely two weeks into the season, and already he finds himself sinking into the same old rhythm. 

A long time ago, when they were just starting out in the league, their arguments would turn into actual fights: usually just shouting matches but, a few memorable times, devolving to wrestling. Now, though, they’re so used to each other that things which would once have elicited a squawk of “What?!” now only cause a quiet, “Yeah, well, fuck you, Chucky,” and one of Gally’s signature grins, the ones that make people hate him.

Alex really doesn’t hate him, though, as he’s had to tell people many times over the years. Actually, he suspects that this routine, repeated as many times as it has been, might mean they’re really friends.

Of course, he’s never tested this. But he’s pretty sure it’s true.

\--

Sometimes Alex’s own competitiveness gets in the way of being a perfect shit to Gally, though.

Most of the time that’s not a bad thing, like when they have to do PR together. When they can sit around and work each other up, it makes it a little bit less of a chore. Plus, nobody forgets his birthday now, which is a definite bonus.

Occasionally, though, it becomes a problem. Like now, for instance.

Alex is a _little_ drunk. Only a little. Okay, maybe he’s had more than a little. Anyway he’s definitely had less than Gally.

He’s pretty sure about this because Gally is complaining about his hair. “But it was so pretty before.”

“Why do you think I cut?” Alex asks, kind of rhetorically. Actually, he’s just gone back to his old style, but nobody seems to remember this, so he doesn’t exactly blame Gally for forgetting, too. “Anyway, it works out pretty well so far.”

“What?” Gally asks. Alex has never seen him look quite so confused, so he takes pity.

“When I pick up now, it’s easier,” he explains, and Gally’s lost puppy look goes away. It’s replaced by the one that usually means trouble, but Alex will cross that bridge when he gets to it.

The next day at practice, his hair is buzzed down to match Alex’s. “I figured it would suit me better than you,” he says, his usual smug grin on his face.

The next few minutes are a blur, and Alex isn’t quite sure how it happens, but by the end of the argument he finds himself agreeing to Gally’s challenge. Except - it’s to see who can seduce Patches first, which. What? _What??_

It’s not that Patches isn’t attractive and all, but this is a terrible fucking idea for so many reasons. Stupid fucking competitiveness. Honestly, he almost has to laugh at it - but, then, that’s pretty much his default reaction to all things Gally now.

\--

Still, now that he’s agreed to this shitty competition, it’s not like Alex is going to lose. “Patches, let me buy you lunch,” he says, as they get off the ice.

“Okay,” he agrees. “Any particular reason why?”

“Just… want to thank you for being a good captain,” Alex says, and they go.

Gally counters with dinner. This is going to be more difficult than Alex had thought.

After a few weeks, the rookies start getting into it, too. Lehks shoots them some weird looks, but shows up the next day with a bag of pistachios that makes Patches really smile. Then Huds and Mets get in on it too, and suddenly the list of available “yes, you can acceptably woo your captain with this” gifts goes way, way down.

Worse than that, he keeps catching Drou and Laurs whispering questions to Dans in Quebecois, and he’s pretty sure they’re about him, if the furtive glances are any indication. He glares back at them every time, but it never seems to do any good.

It’s kind of getting to the point where he wants to quit, anyway, because Patches is actually a good captain, and one of the only people keeping him sane here, but he’s also the type who doesn’t like to sleep with people if he doesn’t have feelings. Alex would happily sleep with him, but doesn’t feel that way about him. It would all end in tears, basically, and his competitive pride isn’t nearly as important to him as keeping a good relationship with Patches.

That is, until he sees Gally openly flirting with him. Then Alex’s face goes all hot and he doesn’t want Gally anywhere _near_ Patches, so he goes over there himself. He’s just in time to catch Gally saying, “So, do you want a boyfriend?”

Patches is looking at him in polite bafflement rather than actual interest, and Alex is thinking, _oh, okay, alright, nothing to worry about,_ but his mouth opens without his permission. “How about a MANfriend?” 

He barely manages to keep from flexing, _oh god._

Patches looks back and forth between them, turning the polite bafflement up to eleven. “I’m sorry, are you guys having problems? You know I’m happy to help you if you are, but it would probably be useful to know what’s wrong first.”

“Problems?” Alex and Gally ask at the same time.

“Yeah,” says Patches. “Guys, I get it, serious relationships are hard, but-”

“Relationship?” Alex almost shouts, and Gally squeaks, “Serious?”

There’s a snort from behind them, barely audible - Pricey. From him, it’s the equivalent of hysterical laughter from anyone else.

Alex can feel the blush on his scalp creeping down the back of his neck. He doesn’t know where to look, so he ends up staring at the ceiling, lips pressed firmly together so he doesn’t say anything else. There’s a noise from beside him. Gally is halfway out the door by the time he looks down.

There’s a hand on his shoulder, and Pricey says, “You should probably talk to him.”

Alex has no idea what that’s actually supposed to mean, but it’s not like Pricey is ever really wrong, so he goes after Gally.

He’s already gone. Alex feels like he really should have known.

\--

It’s one of their busier weeks, and Alex has some trouble actually cornering Gally, who’s avoiding him like he’s contagious. This is pretty much the last thing he needs right now, with the way he’s been playing recently, and he’s tempted to tell Pricey that the vague fucking hints aren’t at all helpful. 

Then his stupid, traitorous brain points out that this is basically a competition between him and Gally, and he’s definitely not going to lose now.

He ends up following Gally home after a game. It makes him feel kind of like a fucking stalker, but he’s also fairly sure Gally wouldn’t open the door for him if he showed up at any other time. When Gally decides to avoid someone, he really does it.

So Alex maybe chases him into his garage. Sue him, he can always say he’s just doing what Pricey told him to. Plus, he fully intends to leave if Gally kicks him out. He just needs to talk to him first.

Gally looks at him like he wants to argue about it, but eventually he just sighs. “Oh, come on, then.”

They end up in the kitchen, staring at each other over the island like a couple of idiots. It looks like it might have something gross and sticky on it, because Gally is kind of a slob.

Alex is the first one to crack under the weight of the silence. “Do you want a boyfriend?” he asks, because it’s late and he doesn’t feel like dancing around the words the way Gally’s been dancing around him, the way Alex realizes he’s been dancing around his own feelings.

Gally smiles at him. “No,” he says.

“Okay,” says Alex, turning to leave.

But Gally leans over the island and snags the back of his shirt. It’s a nice shirt, one he probably spent too much money on, and he doesn’t want to stretch it, so he stops and waits for Gally to explain.

“I want a MANfriend,” Gally says, making Alex flex for real this time, and laughs until Alex kisses the breath out of him.

He fists his hands into Gally’s shirt, hauling him closer, and it takes a minute to register that they’re now sticky. Alex breaks the kiss to strip the shirt off, Gally’s hum of approval turning into a “Hey!” of discontent as Alex throws it into a corner and washes his hands.

“What?” he asks, looking for a dishtowel. If Gally owns one, which Alex seriously doubts, it’s probably stuck in the back of a drawer somewhere, or at the bottom of a pile of laundry. It definitely isn’t where Alex can see it. So he advances on Gally and tries to dry his hands on his jeans.

This ends up being a poor decision, clothes-wise; Alex’s poor shirt gets very stretched out and probably ruined, and that’s before it ends up on the floor of Gally’s kitchen. Still, at least his hands get dry in Gally’s back pockets, and that’s something. 

Alex walks Gally back until he’s pressed against his own fridge, back leaving marks on the stainless steel that Alex already knows aren’t going to be cleaned off anytime soon. He braces himself with one hand, adding a print of his own, which feels pretty satisfying, actually. Leaning in to kiss Gally again, he gets his knee between Gally’s legs, making both of their breaths catch, Gally hard against Alex’s thigh.

And after that… well, he’s definitely never going to be able to look at a refrigerator the same way again. Or Gally’s jeans. Or his poor, poor shirt.

\--

Nothing actually changes between them, which Alex thinks is probably some kind of sign that he’s even more oblivious than he realized.

(He doesn’t tell Pricey that, though.)

They still argue, still compete, and - if Gally’s week-old shirt, covered in what Alex hopes is syrup, still being in his kitchen is any indication - Gally’s still a fucking slob.

But, apparently, all of that is just what Alex likes.

**Author's Note:**

> \- [Habs PR circa 2014, bless. "You know why I ask you this question?"](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RykM4joNLzE?t=6m39s)  
> \- I wanted to look at some of the ties that bind Galchenyuk and Pacioretty, who get maybe more of their share of blame, and then I remembered the trade deadline was coming up and that I made a huge mistake. Luckily they're both still there!  
> \- Is this a healthy relationship? Not 100% tbh but if it works it works.  
> \- And now the ["Serious"](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMuIaPpsh0Q) parody that I can't help but regret:  
> Bergevin: "I'm gonna need somebody seeeeriouussssss; less of a Subban, more of a Weber/Seeeeeriouuusssss; just a big slapshot who won't get clever" "You want to take PK? Alright, we just want Shea! 'Cause he will show us the wayyyyyyy TO THE CUP" (This is the secret of my writing process, just bad musicals all the time.)


End file.
